//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: The Monster of Canterlot // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 20 To say I was surprised by waking up in the Royal Gardens would be a gross understatement. I had had a very enjoyable date with Roseluck, gotten a kiss on the cheek and even an agreement to a second date. I hadn’t even sensed a negative vibe all day. So why, after such a great day, was I suddenly home again? “Welcome, Nephew.” Ah, that makes sense. I looked up at the full moon in time to see Luna fade into view and float down. “Hello, Aunt Luna. You know, there are easier ways to get ahold of me.” “True, but there are few that offer such privacy.” “Uh-huh. Did Mom put you up to this?” Luna giggled. Her laughter always made her seem at least fifteen hundred years younger than she really is. “No. Sister is unaware of our meeting,” she paused and then shot me a sly grin, “and your… date.” “You know, I thought the moon was full for too long.” “Yes, I admit to manipulating the lunar cycle so I may keep an eye on you. I hope you are not angry with me.” “No, no, I still love you.” I proved this by hugging her tightly around the neck while she nuzzled the side of my head. “Besides, I should expect this by now, being so closely related to goddesses and all.” “Good, I’m glad to hear that. I have far too few relatives as it is.” Luna stepped back from me and turned her head. I matched her movement to see where she was looking. I couldn’t believe it, right there, in the gardens, was none other than Rose herself. “Now, tell me about this young mare.” I walked over to the dream Rose and took a good look. It was a perfect representation of her. “What can I say, she’s beautiful. I met her at her shop when I bought some flowers for Twilight and fell for her right then and there.” “I see. She is rather attractive.” Luna walked over to get a better look herself. “Is this the thing you like about her? If so, you should leave her be, for her own sake.” “Wow, Aunt Luna, do you really think me so low?” I chuckled a little. “No, her looks merely caught my eye first. I got so worked up over her good looks, that Twilight kept teasing me about it, so much so that I asked Rose out on a date without even realizing it.” This time it was Luna who laughed. “Young Twilight Sparkle did always know just how to get on your nerves.” “Yeah she does. Well, we went to dinner and a walk afterward. She’s from a middle-class family in Manehattan. She moved to Ponyville to meet nicer ponies and find some cheaper stock. She seems to be a very nice mare and I think I like her.” “I am pleased to hear it.” Once again, Luna turned to the dream Rose. “So, when do I get to meet her?” “Whoa, easy now. I don’t want you scaring her off.” “Oh, I… understand.” Suddenly, I realized what I had said and how she must have taken it. Poor Luna was still having image troubles. I rushed over and hugged her as tight as I could. “No, no, no, not like that. I didn’t mean it like that at all.” I kissed her on the cheek. “What I meant was, you and mom are the rulers of this land and the heavenly bodies that orbit it. That alone would be enough to intimidate anypony. Even without them dating the Sun Princess’ own adopted son.” Luna giggled, “yes, I suppose you are right. Very well, I shall respect your wisdom and not press this matter. Onto other matters, when do you plan on retuning to Canterlot?” “Tomorrow afternoon. I think… wait… what day is this? Dang it’s hard to tell time in the dream world. One more night. But please don’t tell your sister, I want it to be a surprise.” Luna giggled again and kissed me on my forehead, “alright, I shall do as you ask. Besides, it will be fun to see the look on her face.” “That’s the idea.” Luna looked off at something unseen then turned back to me, “sadly, our time grows short and I must return you to the waking world.” Once again, I found myself in her embrace. “Until we meet in the flesh, know that I love you.” “I love you too, Aunt Luna. I will see you soon.” “Farewell for now.” Luna and I waved to each other as she drifted upwards towards the moon. As soon as she faded out of view, I began to wake up. ***** After a delicious meal of eggs and waffles, I managed to convince Twilight to allow me to walk the town on my own today. It wasn’t easy either. She still thinks that somepony is going to freak out and… actually, I don’t know what she thinks will happen. By now, everypony knows who I am and I highly doubt anypony wants to hurt me. In fact, I was actually getting quite a few waves in greeting as I wandered through town. It’s only been a few days, and already these ponies seemed to have accepted me as one of their own. Heck, I bet they would have even if I weren’t royalty. This town was even friendlier than Twilight made it sound in all her letters. As I walked aimlessly through the streets, I was drawn by the sound of laughing foals. I rounded the corner and saw the schoolhouse. It was apparently recess, as all the students were running around on the playground. I even saw a little white filly, an orange filly and a yellow filly that I recognized. I was tempted to walk right on over and talk with my little friends, but I thought that might be a bad idea. Besides, there was a little pink filly and a grey filly who seemed to be going over to talk to them. At first, I thought that two newcomers were their friends, but I quickly realized that was wrong. I could see it the faces of my little friends that the others were unwelcome. It wasn’t long before I recognized something else in their faces. It was a look I’d seen many time, in the mirror. These sweet little fillies were being bullied. Now I really wanted to go to them. I wanted to put a stop to this, but I knew I couldn’t. I could probably stop it this time, but I can’t stay with them forever. Heck, I couldn’t even stop my own bully, what good would I be to them? Granted, I’m related to mine, but still. My feet seemed to make my decision for me, as they moved me closer on their own accord. However, before I could reach them, my assistance became unnecessary. “Alright, class, recess is over and it’s time to go back inside,” a maroon earth pony mare instructed. “Oh, your highness? What brings you here?” I walked up to the mare and bowed a little. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to interrupt. You’re Miss Cheerilee, correct? Twilight’s mentioned you in her letters before.” “That’s right, and you didn’t interrupt anything.” “Ah, good, I may not have ever gone to a classroom setting, but I know the importance of a good education and don’t want to rob anypony of that.” “I see. Well, if you would like, you can come and see it for yourself. Plus, I’m sure the students would love to get a chance to see you up close and with their own eyes. After all, it’s not every day that an incredibly rare species or a member of the royal family wanders into town, and you’re both.” Cheerilee’s own words reached her ears. Her hoof shot up and covered her mouth. “Oh, I hope I didn’t say anything to offend you.” I laughed, “no, no, it’s fine. I’d love to come and see your class.” Ten minutes later, Miss Cheerilee was before her assembled class. “Alright, students, settle down,” they did. “Now, I know you’re all going to be very upset about this, but instead of the pop quiz I had planned for this afternoon (I later found out never existed), we will be having a special guest speaker. Okay~, you can come in now!” I heard a dozen questioning whispers amongst the students suddenly stop as I ducked through the doorway. After I stood back up to my full height, there was nothing but silence. Well… not nothing. There was three little fillies who released excited gasps. “Hello, children, my name is Christopher Sol, and I am your prince.” There was a sudden rush of noise as the foals kept asking each other if that was true. They kept looking up at me, then back to their friends, then to Miss Cheerilee, before coming back to me. It was all quite amusing to watch. Finally, one of them dared to raise a hoof. Unfortunately, it was that pink one from before. “If you’re our prince, how come you’re not a pony?” I swear I saw the walls bend inward when Miss Cheerilee gasped. I looked over my shoulder at the teacher, who looked about ready to eat both her forehooves, and simply smiled at her. “That, my little pony, is because,” I crept up to her desk, placed both hands on its corners, and leaned in close and whispered, “I’m an alien.” The fact that her eyes were about to fall out of her skull was very satisfying. I stood back up and went back to the front of the class. Now Miss Cheerilee was hiding her mouth to block a smile instead of a gaping maw. “In fact, I’m a type of primate known as a human. I come from a world similar to this one, called Earth. I was brought here as a child by a magical accident. Luckily, I was found by the friendliest mare anypony could ever hope to meet. She took me in, gave me love and shelter, and eventually became my mother.” This time, it was the silver one who spoke up. “But I thought you said you were our prince. How can you be our prince if you were raised by some mare?” “Oh, didn’t anypony tell you? The pony who raised me, was Princess Celestia.” “What!?” “Really?!” “No way!” It took a few moments before the classroom was quite enough for me to be heard without yelling. “That’s right. Celestia is indeed my mother.” A smile crept across my face as I thought about how unique that honor really was and how lucky I was she was the one who found me that fateful day. “But… that can’t be true. If Princess Celestia had a child, especially an alien child, then we would have heard about it.” I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a foal before in my life, but here we are. “It is so true!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Yeah, we heard it from Celestia herself,” Scootaloo added. “Wha-… you met Princess Celestia?” the Pink filly asked skeptically. “Yeah, right “Yeah, as if~. Like the princess would talk to a bunch of blank-flanks.” Now I disliked the grey one. I stepped forward and loomed at my full height over the two fillies. “I don’t think I like what you two are insinuating. In your haste to insult these three fillies, you just called them liars without a second thought. The problem with that is, you also just called me, your teacher and one of the rulers of this country liars as well.” I walked over to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and rubbed their heads with a smile on my face. “Plus, I don’t really appreciate you making fun of my friends.” I then returned to the front of the classroom. “Also, as far as blank-flanks go, I’m a blank-flank too.” Once again, a shocked silence fell over the classroom. “Humans, like most creatures in Equestria, do not earn cutie marks, ever. So be careful what you say, where you say it, and who you say it about.” “We’re… we’re sorry, your highness,” the grey filly said after she jumped to the floor and bowed as quickly as she could. “Yeah, please forgive us,” the pink one begged. “It’s fine, just be mindful that your actions have consequences. Come to think of it, you two remind me a lot of my cousin.” “Really?” the pink filly looked up at me with excitement painted on her face. “That’s so cool!” the grey one said. “Yeah, you three are something alright.” I muttered as I rolled my eyes in my mind. “Now, who has a question?” The next hour was full of questions and answers. They started with the standard and easily answered questions; what I ate, why I walked upright, what fingers were. Then came the less fun questions; why I wore clothes all the time, what Earth was like, what I remembered of my real parents. In all, it was an interesting day. I even managed to have fun. Sadly, everything comes to an end at some point. “Alright, children, that’s enough questions for the prince, I’m sure he has places to go and things to do. How about, in light of his visit today, we end class here for today? Or would you all like to keep working?” I only just managed to get out of the way of the stampeding ponies. “I guess that’s a ‘yes’, Miss Cheerilee,” I joked. She giggled, “I think you’re right.” After the sound of stomping hooves had faded into the distance, I was surprised to see that the three fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had remained. “Hey, girls, why are you all still waiting here?” “Well…” Scootaloo started. “Rarity picks me up after school, but she won’t know to come get me early,” Sweetie Belle explained. “And Applejack will still be selling apples in town for another couple hours, so I’m, stuck too.” Scootaloo finished the thought, “I’m supposed to walk back to my house with Applejack since it’s on the way to the farm.” “Oh, oh dear. I didn’t think about that. I’m so sorry, girls,” Miss Cheerilee apologized. “It’s okay, Miss Cheerilee. We’ll jest play on the playground ‘til out sisters can come git us,” Apple Bloom offered. “Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Scootaloo confirmed. “Well, I… suppose that would be okay,” the teacher said. “Hmm… how about this, you three accompany me to Sugarcube Corner, I treat you all to some milkshakes, then drop you off with your sisters. Does that sound good?” A chorused ‘yeah!’ was their response. “Alright. Let’s get to it.” I scooped up Scootaloo and placed her on my shoulders, then I picked up Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in each arm and headed for the door. “We’ll see you later, Miss Cheerilee.” “Good-bye, girls, Good-bye, your highness,” Cheerilee waved as we left. And that was my first day at school.